I know who you are
by Sara Sidle Grissom
Summary: Set after Aingavite Baa. Rigsby talks to Van Pelt after their break up to try and change her mind. Will he succeed? Rigspelt. Complete.
_A/N: So, after watching Aingavite Baa again for the first time in years, I couldn't help but wonder if Rigsby would've put up a fight to get her back. Apparently he didn't... so here he did. Hope you'll enjoy this. Would love to hear from you!_

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 **I know who you are**

'I know who I am', what kind of statement was that? Wayne Rigsby rubbed his hands over his face as he tried not to cry. The love of his life had just walked out of the office after telling him he would hate her for having to transfer. He thought it was a done deal, that she would've been happy with his offer of transferring to San Francisco. He let out a deep sigh and couldn't stop the small sob from escaping along with it. He forced his eyes shut tightly before getting up and grabbing his coat.

The drive to her house felt familiar, but somehow it seemed to take forever. The knot in his stomach seemed to tighten and he wasn't quite sure what he was going to say to her once he'd be face to face. All he knew was that he needed to try, needed to let her know how important she was to him. Far more important than his job could ever be. He parked his car in front of her house, got out and remotely locked the door. For a split second he contemplated leaving again, but he found his strength and walked up to her door, knocking.

Grace wiped at her eyes as she heard the knock on the door. She quickly checked herself in the mirror, noticing that it was obvious she'd been crying for the past hour. She cleared her throat and opened the door, shocked to see who was on the other side. "Wayne…" She held onto the door tightly, feeling a little uncertain of what to do next. "What uhm… what are you doing here?" She asked, almost not daring to meet his eyes, but looking up in the end.

"You told me you know who you are," Wayne started as he took a step closer towards the door. "But so do I Grace, I know who you are just as much as I know who I am," he said. He swallowed nervously and tried to make her meet his eyes, but found it difficult. He reached out to cup her cheek and flinched when she stepped away. "You're the woman I want in my life Grace, you're the one I want to grow old with. You're the one who has my heart," he added the last in a whisper, smiling sheepishly at how cheesy and corny it had sounded. "And I am the man who wants to do everything in his power to be with you, who doesn't care about his job when it comes to you… Please Grace… let me go to San Francisco and be with you." Wayne hated pleading, but if it meant getting another shot with her he'd beg her on his knees if he had to.

Grace swallowed the lump in her throat at his confession, feeling a few tears burn in her eyes, "I can't Wayne… I can't take that responsibility of knowing I was the reason you didn't pursue your dreams and your career," she said and wanted to say more, but Wayne interrupted her.

"What if my dreams are different from my career now? Yes, when I first started I really wanted to work at CBI, maybe even FBI after a while, but now? My dream is to have a family Grace… with you…" Wayne shook his head slightly, "I don't want to beg for this, but I will if I have to. I love you, I have for a long time and I will for a long time to come…"

Tears started to form in Grace's eyes and she shut them tightly as a few escaped, rolling over her cheeks. "I'm not who you think I am Wayne," she whispered, choking slightly at the end.

"Then show me the real you, you can trust me…" Wayne replied, hating the desperation in his voice. "Please…" he whispered.

Grace looked up at him again and wiped at her eyes. "Okay, I'll tell you everything… then you can make up your mind," she said as she took a step back, inviting him into her home.

He was immediately hit with all the familiar smells around the house and he couldn't help but smile a little at the bittersweet memories. He moved to the couch and sat down, waiting for her to sit next to him. But she didn't, instead she chose to sit on the chair opposite the couch.

She nervously clasped her hands together in her lap. "I'm not sure where to start," she admitted with a nervous chuckle. "I uhm… as you know my work has always been very important to me. I've always been the girl who stayed up all night to study and to thrive in all of her classes, not settling for second best," she started and let out a deep breath. "It has always given me a sense of security, having matters in my own hands."

"If you feel you need control over our relationship…" Wayne stared.

"Please, let me just continue," Grace said as her eyes shot up to meet his, forcing him to keep quiet. "When you came into my life you turned all my certainties upside down," she continued. "It was incredibly scary, but I trusted you, I knew you wouldn't do anything to hurt me, not on purpose anyway." She let out a deep sigh. "In my past I've always tried to control everything, even my relationships and eventually the guys ended up resenting me, telling me I was bossy and that I had no right to tell them what to do or what not to do… and I understand, it's just that this certainty makes me feel… secure and at ease…" She looked up at him again. "But with you… I don't feel like I need to control anything and however secure that may feel at times, it is also terrifying."

Wayne looked up at her, swallowing the lump in his throat. He could see she was done, for now, and carefully moved from the couch to the floor in front of her, gently taking hold of her trembling hands. "Grace…" he whispered, his voice wavering a little bit. "I don't care about your past or your quirks… I know who you are and the woman who has been in my life for the past months… I can't do this without her. So boss me around all you want, I would love to be controlled by you for the rest of my life, because it means I can have you with me…"

Grace looked down at their joined hands and couldn't help but give him a little smile. "Are you sure?" She asked in a slight whisper. "I'm quite a lot to handle…"

"I know, and I'm ready for it," Wayne nodded and gave her hands a gentle squeeze to emphasize his words. "Stay with me?"

Grace looked deeply into his eyes and then gave a small nod, tears escaping from her eyes again. She couldn't help but smile a little when she saw his face light up.

Wayne smiled brightly as he let go of her hands, only to pull her to him in a tight embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled the side of her head, taking in the sweet smell of her shampoo. "I love you Grace… I always will, no matter what," he whispered, his lips brushing her cheeks.

"I love you too Wayne," Grace whispered and looked deeply into his eyes, "not loving you was never a reason for what I did," she said and cupped his cheek before capturing his lips in a sweet kiss to seal her words.

Wayne pulled her closer, deepening the kiss as he pulled her onto his lap. "I'm so glad we were able to have this talk," he said and kissed her again, and again.

"Me too," Grace whispered against his lips before pulling away just slightly. "So what now?"

"Well, I will call my contact at the San Francisco office, and tomorrow we will talk to Lisbon and Hightower," he responded. "But for now? It's only going to be you in my arms, right here," he grinned and captured her lips again, more urgently this time.

"Hmmm, I think I can get used to that," Grace replied as she melded into his arms, all their earlier troubles forgotten.

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 **The End**


End file.
